Liar Liar: Collector's Edition

What do I have to do to get a blooper reel?

At one point, the hype on Jim Carrey was just about unbearable. Right after Dumb and Dumber and The Mask, I believe, everyone was talking about how Carrey got $20 million to do The Cable Guy, and then it bombed. While the entertainment pundits debated whether any actor is really worth $20 million, particularly for a bomb, Universal quietly released Liar Liar, one of Carrey's funniest movies. Not the funniest-- I would have to give that to Dumb and Dumber-- but one of them.

The Movie

The plot of this one is pretty simple: Divorced dad's continued failure to deliver on promises to his 5-year-old son leads the kid to wish that dad couldn't tell a lie for a day. The wish comes true, and the dad-- who happens to be a lawyer-- is in for a very tough 24 hours.

Though it certainly doesn't hold back in a lot of places, Liar Liar was the first Carrey movie that was at all believable, character-wise. Once you suspend disbelief on the whole wish-comes-true-cannot-tell-a-lie thing, everything is pretty realistic-- which was a definite departure for old rubberface.

So is it funny? Definitely. Though the inability to lie seems like a one-joke premise, Carrey manages to do something different every time he encounters this obstacle, and just about every time is funny. Particularly funny is a scene in the board room where he just tells everyone what he really thinks of them. The first 10 minutes are lame, the last 20 are way too syrupy, but the middle hour is gold. 7 out of 10

The Video

This is the "Special Edition," which means that it's the version that's in widescreen, 1.85:1 format, and enhanced for 16x9 TVs. (There is a full-screen version available as well.) Transfer-wise, it looks great. There are a few problems with diagonal contours, and a few hard edges, but these are very minor problems that I barely noticed.

Also, I should point out that a Jim Carrey movie is not the kind of movie that's greatly affected by the video quality. But, that said, I had very little qualms with the quality here. 8 out of 10

The Audio

Dolby Digital 5.1 may not have been absolutely necessary--it's far more than adequate for this movie-- but they did it anyway. And, as a result, everything sounds pretty good. I did get a little annoyed at times with the voume of the music; it never really drowns out the dailog, but its so candy-coated, and gets so loud at times, it definitely distracts from the movie. But then, that might be the fault of the source material, not the DVD. There are a good number of moments where stereo effects are used effectively, but very little immersive Surround action. 7 out of 10

The Extras

If there's one thing I want to see on a Jim Carrey DVD, it's a blooper reel. Let me see the countless takes where the other cast members are unable to keep from laughing as Carrey does his thing. Can't we have that? Please? I was initially interested to review this disc because it included outtakes, which I thought would be just that. Disappointed! The bloopers are largely of scenes that Carrey wasn't even in. I feel gypped.

There is a featurette called "Bridging the Comedy Chasm," which goes behind the scenes of the movie, and explains the working relationship between Carrey and director Tom Shadyac (who also directed Ace Ventura: Pet Detective). It also explains its own title, which has to do with that relationship.

There are two deleted scenes that are pretty funny, but you can see why they were deleted, and there is a commentary track by Tom Shadyac. Shadyac talks more than a lot of people do on commentary tracks, and every little thing he sees onscreen sets him off in a new anecdoatal direction.

There is also of course the trailer, and a series of production stills, which never interest me much, I must admit. 7 out of 10

If you've already got this movie in another form, you may want to hold off on this version. But if you've seen it and like it, and want to watch it lots of times, this is a good buy.